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Believing in a Vision

Vision: The act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be. Every project begins with a vision; an end-state or goal that drives the journey. Behind every vision is a visionary; someone who believes in the vision and works to make the vision a reality.

Last week I attended the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Executive Forum where I listened to John Fish speak. John is not only the Chairman & CEO of Suffolk Construction Company, he is also one of the key visionaries behind Boston 2024 – the effort to bring the Olympics to Boston. While this is a controversial endeavor with many pain points, roadblocks, and naysayers, John believes in the vision for two reasons: he is passionate about the power of sports and he loves the city of Boston.

John’s love for the city of Boston is shared by the rest of the committee and it is the primary driver of their efforts. Their vision isn’t about bringing the Olympics to Boston in 2024, it is about creating a better city for people to live and work in. They have a vision for where they want the city of Boston to be in 2030 and believe the Olympics provide a tremendous opportunity to invest in that vision now.

John outlined the core reasons why an Olympic bid benefits the city:

The bid is a catalyst for changes. It forces city leaders to think differently, live up to deadlines, and come together constructively.

It is an opportunity to make significant improvements to the city. Boston has a culture of deferring reinvestment. Preparing for the Olympics would force leaders to invest in the city’s transportation system and affordable housing options, all while creating jobs for residents.

Hosting the Olympics would further elevate Boston as a global city. Since the conversation started, Boston has seen an increase in international tourism. London has also surpassed Paris as a destination, which is attributed to the Olympic games.

While listening to John, I started thinking about our vision for the future of Boston Financial. As I mentioned in my last blog post, our vision for the next few year is to continue to create future value and evolve from a classical transfer agent to a smart servicer. This vision is about creating a better company prepared for the challenges facing our industry. Yes, there are pain points, roadblocks, and naysayers to contend with, but the benefits of working towards this vision outweigh the drawbacks.

Becoming a smart servicer is catalyst for change. It requires our leaders within our company to think differently, live up to deadlines, and come together constructively.

It is an opportunity to make continued investments in our tools, technology, and people. These investments will increase efficiency across the organization and position us to deliver on the customer experience.

It further elevates Boston Financial as an industry leader and as a resource to help our clients solve their problems along their road to success.

Having a vision is the first step towards investing in the future. Regardless of your opinion on whether or not Boston should host the Olympics, the Boston 2024 initiative creates a dialogue about making significant improvements to the city of Boston. The research and visioning is a valuable exercise in itself. The actions they are taking now will benefit the city long after 2024. At Boston Financial, we are emulating this model. The actions we are taking now to evolve our business will not only benefit our business and our clients in the immediate future, but for years to come.

Anne Hebard-Duduch

With over 25 years in financial servicing, Anne Hebard-Duduch has extensive experience in all aspects of retail and institutional servicing functions, including: relationship management, operations management, transition oversight, sales and marketing, and product development. Anne recently led product development at Boston Financial, providing innovative, market-driven solutions. This resulted in several new business lines, including: a digital strategy offering, a financial intermediary oversight solution, and an expanded suite of compliance solutions.
Anne currently plays a lead role in managing one of DST's largest and most complex conversions involving one of the industry's largest asset managers. Anne supports DST in the transition of the asset manager's in-house transfer agent platform to the TA2000® platform with operational and relationship management expertise.
Anne is a board member of the National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA), member of United Way Women's Leadership Council, and an active participant of industry conferences. Anne holds a BS from the University of Massachusetts and an Executive Diploma in Strategic Direction and Leadership; Certified Management Institute, United Kingdom. Anne's three teenage sons keep her on her toes, and together they enjoy skiing, boating, and her attempts at playing golf.

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